HOWELL TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Hundreds of people packed Howell High School's auditorium for the Howell Township Board of Trustees meeting. Trustees voted unanimously to approve a moratorium that postpones any data centers from moving into the township.
Dozens of residents from Howell Township and Fowlerville spoke during public comment and shared their concerns about a billion dollar data center proposed on a thousand acres of farmland.
Watch Darren Cunninghan's video report below:
Those concerns range from environmental, to utility rate increases, to a loss in property value.
Chuck Smith said he lives 25 feet from the proposed data center.
“It’s bad. It's all bad. And it's big money trying to buy out little towns. It's that simple. There's nothing else to say about it,” he said. "And as you can tell, everybody that spoke tonight was against it. Everybody!"
His words were echoed by hundreds of people who clapped and cheered for the dozens who spoke their piece at the podium and booed trustees.
The moratorium will be in place for six months.
"What this moratorium means is it could give (the board) six months to try to get an ordinance in place," trustee Bob Wilson told 7 News Detroit. "An ordinance is to set rules for, ya know, if a data center does come here."
Many residents feel that’s kicking the can down the road on something they want no part of in the first place.
"There should have been no reason for them to say, 'Well, we're going to put it off again.' Why? Why?" Smith said.
Resident Allen Romain told 7 News Detroit, “I was up here and I said, ya know, this is a timeout. That's all it is is a timeout. That's what you do to kids. We're a bunch of adults here, and we're being treated like children.”
Wilson said, "I did not sign an NDA... I was probably left in the dark on most of this stuff. Ya know, there's two people on this board that did sign an NDA, and I'm not one of them."
The board will vote on Dec. 8 on whether to approve rezoning the land in question from agricultural to industrial.
Residents are concerned that leaves the possibility open to a data center moving in once the moratorium is up.
